Blue State Dems Divided – Invest In Ailing School System Or Appease The Left?

November 1, 2019

Democratic presidential frontrunners are taking a strong stance against drilling – especially on federal lands.   But unfortunately for Democratic leaders in states like New Mexico and Colorado, the presidential candidates fail to acknowledge all the benefits drilling has for their constituents, specifically investments in their school systems.

For example, in New Mexico, more than 40 percent of oil and gas revenue goes to public schools. Reuters reports:

“More than $1 billion of the state’s $2.4 billion in oil-and-gas revenue goes to public schools, according to the nonprofit New Mexico Tax Research Institute. Expecting another windfall this year, state lawmakers approved a 16% increase in school spending to $3.3 billion, to pay for a longer school year, higher teacher salaries, and increased support for low-income districts.

Governor Lujan Grisham also announced plans for a scholarship program, funded largely by oil and gas revenues, that would make the state’s colleges free for anyone with a 2.5 grade point average – an estimated 55,000 students.”

Teachers aren’t just concerned about their salaries, they are concerned about their students:

Jessica Sanders, a science teacher in Rio Rancho, sees the impact in her classroom, which until the recent improvement in funding lacked basics such as enough writing implements, projectors and computers for students.

“When people talk about shutting down the oil and gas industry, I don’t think people are seeing how that will affect me and my students,” she said.

Which constituency will these Democrats choose: the kids or the Eco-Left?